IE51817B1 - A method of filling a disposable gas lighter of the type without a wick and a lighter enabling the method to be performed - Google Patents

Abstract

A disposable gas lighter is formed with a liquid-fuel reservoir having a well molded into the housing at an upper portion thereof and provided with a plug member having a plurality of positions including a first position in which a passage is provided into the reservoir, a second position in which the well and the flow can be completely closed off and a third position in which the member is completely clear of the well to enable the well to serve to accommodate a valve system and a flow control device for the lighter. The axially displaceable member, having the aforementioned three positions, may be molded as part of the lighter housing and the well and can be broken loose when it is necessary to fill the reservoir.

Description

The invention relates to a method of filling a disposable gas lighter of the wickless kind and a lighter enabling the method to be put into effect.

Disposable gas lighters generally comprise a head formed by the upper wall of the body, which is formed with a reservoir, the wall being formed with a well whioh extends transversely therethrough and is adapted to act as a housing for the valve comprising a burner and a reducing valve filter sandwiched between the valve seat and its supporting member. The head also supports the lighter operating mechanism. The lighter head is generally made of a plastics which is moulded simultaneously with the lighter body, whose extremity remote from the head is closed by an added, welded end.

Nowadays the reservoir is filled with gas at the level of the end; this requires an end formed with a filling aperture having a closure pin. The end is therefore a member which is difficult to mould and weld to the body, having regard to the complexity of its shape.

It is an object of the invention to reduce the costs of disposable wickless gas lighters more particularly of the kind disclosed and claimed in French Patent number 80 19 585 Accordingly, the invention provides a method of filling a disposable gas lighter of the wickless kind, in which the upper wall of the reservoir or lighter head has a well which extends continuously therethrough and is adapted to act as a housing for the valve comprising a burner and a reducing valve filter sandwiched between a member forming a valve seat and a supporting member for the filter, which comprises giving the well an obturator which may be moved between three positions, a first position in which it is only inserted slightly and in which a passage is made for the flow of the liquid fuel between the obturator and the inside wall of the well, a second position in which it is inserted to a greater degree and in which the well is completely obturated, and a third position in which it is completely inserted and in which the obturator is completely dis15 engaged from the well, which well is also used as a filling aperture for the liquid fuel reservoir.

The operations of injection and welding the end, which no longer needs a filling aperture, are therefore simplified and made more reliable, the end being simpler and better balanced, more particularly when welding is performed by ultrasonics.

Moreover, the end and the body can be made of the same material and, since they do not necessarily comprise foreign bodies, they can be recovered.

The invention also provides a lighter enabling the method according to the invention to be put into effect, the lighter being of the wickless kind in which the upper wall of the reservoir or lighter head has a well extending therethrough and adapted to act as a housing for the valve comprising a burner and a reducing valve filter sandwiched between a member forming a valve seat and a supporting member of the filter,, wherein the inner free end of the well adapted to act as a housing for the valve has an internal shoulder, and wherein an obturator is provided which is associated with the inner end of the well and has three sections, a first section corresponding to the inner end of the obturator and having the same section as the bore of the inner end of the well and having at least one longitudinal groove making a passage between such section and the wall of the inner end of the well when such section is engaged in the shoulder of the well namely when the obturator is in the reservoir20 filling position, a second section of the same crosssection as the first section but having no groove and ensuring the closure of the reservoir when such second section is engaged in the shoulder of the well, corresponding to a stand-by position of the obturator, and finally a third section of smaller cross-section than the two other sections for ensuring the total release of the inner end of the well by the obturator when such third section is moved to the level of the shoulder of the well, namely when the obturator is in its position corresponding to the use of the lighter.

Preferably, at first the obturator is unitary with the well, to which it is connected via sectionable lugs by the axial displacement of the obturator in relation to the well.

Advantageously, the lugs connect the free edge of the inner end of the well and the shoulder separating the second and third sections of the obturator.

Normally, when the obturator is moved into the position of use, in which it releases the well completely, it falls into the reservoir in which it can move freely, so that it may make a rattling noise.

To obviate this disadvantage, in an improved embodiment of the invention, on the one hand the free end of the third section of the obturator has a grooved prolongation, and on the other hand the supporting member of the filter which forms the lower member of the valve has a cylindrical passage of the same section as the prolongation which is adapted to be engaged thereon not only to enable the obturator to be displaced from its reservoir-closing position into its lighter-using position, during the positioning of the valve in its well, but also to ensure that the obturator is retained in such position.

The invention will be clearly understood from the following description of an embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawing in which: FIG. 1 is an axial section through the well of a lighter body molded unitarily with an obturator according to the invention; FIG. 2 is an axial cross sectional view of the well showing an obturator separated therefrom or independently formed therefrom, in its first position for filling the reservoir; FIG 3. is a view similar to FIG. 2 showing the obturator in its second position; and FIG. 4 is another view similar to FIG. 2 showing the obturator in its third position and engaged by a valve assembly.

As shown in the drawings, only the wall 2 of the upper part of the lighter body is shown. The wall is formed with a well 3 adapted to act as a housing for the lighter valve. Figs, 3 and 4 show a portion of the valve - i.e., the member 4 forming the seat for the burner (not shown), a reducing valve filter 5 and a supporting member 6 against which the filter 5 is applied by the member 4.

As shown in the drawings, the most important portion 10 of the well 3 projects on the inner face of the wall - i.e., projects inside the reservoir 7 which is bounded by the lighter body and is adapted to receive the liquid fuel.

According to the invention the inner end of the well 3 15 has an inner shoulder 3a adapted to co-operate with an obturator 8 having three superimposed sections 8a, 8b and 8c and of a section adapted to that of the shoulder 3a.

In a very simple manner the section of the shoulder 3a, 20 just like that of the assembly of the well 3, is cylindrical, so that of the obturator 8 is also cylindrical.

The section 8a with which the end of the obturator 8 furthest from the outer end 3b of the well 3 is formed, and the central section 8b have a diameter equal to that of the bore of the shoulder 3a, so as to enable them to engage slidingly in the shoulder 3a, although such engagement requires a certain axial thrust, thus preventing any accidental displacement of the obturator 8 in the bore of the shoulder 3a.

The third section 8c of the obturator 8 - i.e., the one produced at its end remote from the inner end comprising the section 8a, has a diameter less than that of the bore of the shoulder 3a, so that when the section 8c is placed at the level of the shoulder 3a, the obturator 8 is completely free in relation to the bore of the shoulder 3a.

The inner section 8a also has at least one longitudinal groove 8d making a passage for the liquid fuel when the obturator is in its position in which the section 8a is at the level of the shoulder 3a, as shown in Fig. 2.

Figs. 2-4 illustrate the method of filling the lighter When the obturator 8 is in the filling position as illustrated in Fig. 2 -i.e., with its inner section 8a at the level of the shoulder 3a, the reservoir 7 can be filled via the upper end 3b of the well 3 used as a filling aperture; the fuel can pass through the groove 8d to reach the reservoir 7.

When filling is complete, it is enough to move the obturator 8 in the direction indicated by arrow 9 to bring the central section 8b to the level of the shoulder 3a, as shown in Fig. 3, corresponding to the closure of the reservoir 7. This displacement can be performed by means of the filling pipe, which can act directly on the shoulder 8e separating the sections 8b and 8c from the obturator 8.

When the lighter reservoir 7 is filled, it can be kept for the time being in that condition, or be immediately transferred to the place of location of the valve which is to be introduced into the well 3, During such introduction, the supporting member 6 of the filter 5 displaces the obturator 8 again in the direction indicated by the arrow 9, so as to bring the section 8c to the level of the shoulder 3a, so that the obturator 8 is completely released from such shoulder.

The obturator can of course drop inside the reservoir 7, but preferably, to prevent the risk of rattling by inhibiting any displacement in the reservoir 7, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, on the one hand the supporting member 6 of the filter 5 has a bore 6a terminating in a frustoconical aperture 6b, and on the 5181? other hand the obturator 8 has beyond the section 8c a prolongation 8f which has the same diameter as the bore 6a of the supporting member 6 and is connected to the section 8c via a frustoconical shoulder 8g having a section complementary with the frustoconical end 6b of the bore 6a of the supporting member 6. The prolongation 8f also has grooves 8h allowing the flow of the liquid or gaseous fuel.

This arrangement has the advantage that when it has been completely released from the shoulder 3a the obturator 8 is retained in position by the engagement of its prolongation 8f in the bore 6a of the member 6, as shown in Fig. 4.

As will be gathered from Figs. 3 and 4, the presence of the frustoconical end 6b of the bore 6a and of the frustoconical shoulder 8g of the prolongation 8f produces a positive entrainment of the obturator 8 by the supporting member 6.

Fig. 1 shows how the obturator 8 can be obtained directly by moulding with the well 3, to which it can be connected by lugs or a web of material 11 connecting the edge of the inner end of the well 3 to the shoulder 8e of the obturator 8; such lugs or web 11 can be sectioned merely by the displacement of the obturator 8 in the direction indicated by arrow 12, opposite from the direction indicated by the arrow 9, so as to move the obturator 8 into the filling position, as shown in Fig. 2.

Claims (7)

1. CLAIMS: 1. A method of filling a disposable gas lighter of the wickless kind, in which the upper wall of the reservoir or lighter head has a well which extends 5 continuously therethrough and is adapted to act as a housing for the valve comprising a burner and a reducing valve filter sandwiched between a member forming a valve seat and a supporting member for the filter, which comprises giving the well an 10 obturator which may be moved between three positions, a first position in which it is only inserted slightly and in which a passage is made for the flow of the liquid fuel between the obturator and the inside wall of the well, a second position in which it is 15 inserted to a greater degree and in which the well is completely obturated, and a third position in which it is completely inserted and in which the obturator is completely disengaged from the well, which well is also used as a filling aperture for the liquid 20 fuel reservoir.

2. A lighter for putting into effect the method claimed in claim 1, of the wickless kind in which the upper wall of the reservoir or lighter head has a well extending therethrough and adapted to act as 25 a housing for the valve comprising a burner and a reducing valve filter sandwiched between a member forming a valve seat and a supporting member of the filter, wherein the inner free end of the well adapted to act as a housing for the valve has an internal shoulder, and wherein an obturator is provided which is associated with the inner end of the well and has three sections, a first section corresponding to the inner end of the obturator and having the same section as the bore of the inner end of the well and having at least one longitudinal groove making a passage between such section and the wall of the inner end of the well when such section is engaged in the shoulder of the well namely when the obturator is in the reservoir-filling position, a second section of the same cross-section as the first section but having no groove and ensuring the closure of the reservoir when such second section is engaged in the shoulder of the well, corresponding to a stand-by position of the obturator, and finally a third section of smaller cross-section than the two other sections for ensuring the total release of the inner end of the well by the obturator when such third section is moved to the level of the shoulder of the well, namely when the obturator is in its position corresponding to the use of the lighter.

3. A lighter according to Claim 2, wherein at first the obturator is unitary with the well, to which it is connected via sectionable lugs by the axial displacement of the obturator in relation to the well.

4. 5 4. A lighter according to Claim 3, wherein the lugs connect the free edge of the inner end of the well and the shoulder separating the second and third sections of the obturator.

5. A lighter according to any one of Claims 2 - 4, 10 wherein the free end of the third section of the obturator has a grooved prolongation and the supporting member of the filter which forms the lower member of the valve has a cylindrical passage of the same section as the prolongation which is adapted to be engaged 15 thereon not only to enable the obturator to be displaced from its reservoir-closing position into its lighterusing position, during the positioning of the valve in its well, but also to ensure that the obturator is retained in such position. 20

6. A method according to Claim 1 of filling a disposable gas lighter of the wickless kind, substantially as hereinbefore described with particular reference to and as illustrated in Figs 2 - 4 of the accompanying drawing.

7. A lighter according to Claim 2 substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.